


Dinner For Two

by SaraJaye



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Comfort Food, Cooking, Dinner dates, F/M, Heart-to-Heart, Oboro takes care of everyone, Pre-Romance, Rare Pairings, Ryoma failing and falling asleep in the mess hall, Sewing, discussion of dead parents, growing closer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-07 01:12:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6778993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She only meant to take a break from her hard work, but a surprise encounter turns a simple break into something more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dinner For Two

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [fe14drabbles](fe14drabbles.tumblr.com)'s Submission Sunday!

If not for her growling stomach, she would have kept sewing all night. It wasn't even the kind of night that drove her to work herself into a stupor, but with Lord Takumi _and_ Corrin's birthday coming, she wanted to finish their presents as soon as possible.

But even someone like her knew their limits, and the longer she put off eating the angrier her stomach would be at her.

She made her way to the mess hall, thinking of the surplus of fish and peaches they seemed to have lately...sashimi sounded delicious, or she could make some candied peaches. Onigiri was easy, or maybe-

"Woah!" She stumbled and caught herself against the counter, then looked to her right. "Lord Ryoma...?"

His head shot up and he made a startled noise, his hand instantly reaching for the Raijinto before falling back to his side as he recognized her.

"Oboro, sorry about that. You startled me."

"More like I _woke_ you. What were you doing taking a nap in the mess hall, anyway?" She frowned. "I thought you'd started getting more rest after the last time we talked. No wonder Lord Takumi's been so worried about you lately."

"It's not that, I swear." Lord Ryoma pulled himself up and stretched. "This is the first time in the last few weeks I've trained so late...I got hungry, but I must have fallen asleep without deciding what I wanted to cook." Oboro sighed, shaking her head a little.

"I'm going to make us some sashimi. Protein's what you need at a time like this!" She pulled two fish from the ice chest and a knife from the shelf and got to work; within moments, she had two plates heaped with fish and vegetables and two cups of tea ready. "All done!"

"How much did you have to practice to work that fast?" Ryoma asked with a small smile as she settled them at the low table, passing him the slightly fuller plate. She smiled as she watched him dig in, watching him eat for a few moments before she began on her own fish.

"It's second nature to me. I've taken care of people for so long..." She sighed. "Even before that night, sometimes I'd make food for my parents when they stayed up late trying to finish orders." A pang of sadness struck her and she closed her eyes, thinking of the gifts she was working on. "For the first week after that night, I kept forgetting they were gone and I'd go to make them dinner before I remembered."

Lord Ryoma put down his chopsticks and looked up at her, his face sympathetic.

"Sometimes I think of writing letters to Mother, before I remember what happened that day." He speared a piece of fish, his other hand clenching and his face darkening. "I used to think it should have been me, but I know Mother wouldn't want that."

"Of course she wouldn't, and neither would any of us!" Oboro cried, more vehemently than she'd intended. "Sorry about that, but-"

"I know." He looked away. "Ever since she came to Hoshido I did everything I could to protect her. I made sure she'd be loved by the people, protected her from anyone who would harm her. I should have stopped that hooded man that day..."

She pulled her mat closer to his, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"She was lucky to have such a wonderful son."

He smiled sadly, wrapping his free arm around her waist.

"And your parents were lucky to have such a wonderful daughter. And Takumi's lucky to have you as his retainer-actually, he told me that himself a while ago." And Oboro couldn't help but blush. Takumi _did_ tell her on his own that he appreciated her and Hinata's hard work, but it felt so _rewarding_ to hear he'd been complimenting her behind her back!

"All I do is my best...and not just for him, either! I need to take care of his family, and everyone in this army!" And especially for him, she added mentally, thinking of him sleeping against the counter. Though she was sworn to Takumi and knew how hard Saizo and Kagero worked, she couldn't help wanting to give Lord Ryoma a little extra care.

They finished their meal in silence, their eyes meeting every now and then. Ryoma looked much more refreshed after they were done, but he made no move to take out his sword. Instead, he walked her back to her room.

"Those are beautiful," he said, glancing towards the kimono and the jinbei set she'd been working so hard on for the past several weeks. "I especially like the pattern." Oboro smiled sadly.

"It was my mother's favorite. Her birthday was the day after Lord Takumi and Corrin's..." She sighed. "Is that selfish of me? These gifts are for two people I really care about, normally I'd go with _their_ favorites, but..."

He put a hand on her shoulder, just like she'd done for him earlier.

"I don't know much about fashion, but the color would look good with Takumi's eyes. And I think Corrin would enjoy the leaf pattern," he said. "It's not selfish to want to honor your mother through a gift for other people, and I'm sure Takumi and Corrin would agree." Oboro smiled, leaning against him.

"Thanks, Lord Ryoma."

"And thank _you_ for dinner." He smiled. "Tomorrow, how about if I return the favor? Meet me at the mess hall after I've finished training with Kagero."

She took his hand and smiled.

"It's a date."


End file.
